The Portrait Now

by Sandy Nairne, Sarah Howgate

"The Portrait Now" presents a unique and important selection of contemporary portraits from across the world. Featuring over eighty portraits, including the most recent work of internationally acclaimed artists, the book demonstrates the accomplishment and inventiveness of this major art form. "The Portrait Now" is an exciting overview of contemporary trends in portraiture, in the context of a changing outlook in the art world. The portraits have been chosen to show the latest developments in painting, sculpture, video art, photography and self-portraiture, and to highlight changes that are occurring in the artistic presentation of the human form. Together they illustrate how artists are responding to the human condition in increasingly inventive ways and in the context of a more complex world. The book features an essay by Sandy Nairne and Sarah Howgate in which they examine international portraiture, focusing on a selection of works from 2000 onwards. They discuss such subjects as the condition for portraits, celebrity, identity, the variety of media used, commissioning portraits, patronage, the return of the society portrait and the use of new technology. "The Portrait Now" will be an indispensable reference book for all those working in the field or interested in contemporary art. It is published to launch the Gallery's 150th anniversary year.

Genres: Art

Paperback

Published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing to read THE PORTRAIT NOW from a vantage point of more than a decade later than "now." Many astonishing portraits here although the range of subjects could be far more broad. Gillian Wearing's "Self Portrait at Three Years Old" struck me as particularly inventive. Not a lot of text but it gives some context on the meaning and history of portraiture. I wish there had been photos of historic works referenced by some of these paintings-- the Van Dyck that a certain portrait is modeled after, etc. Even though those paintings are iconic, it would be ideal to compare them side by side.

[Isadora]

I have mostly skimmed and longing looked at the wonderful pictures.